The One Person Who Never Left
by teamjason123
Summary: Just a short story on how I think it would've gone if Percy remembered Annabeth when she came to Camp Jupiter, but had found another girlfriend. I know it's a little overused, but give it a try anyway. Tartarus scenes will be included. Hopefully will be finished by the time HoH comes out.
1. Chapter 1

Her body froze the minute she stepped off the Argo II.

He was there, he was _right there_ – holding hands with another girl.

She was pretty. There was no denying it. Her wavy blond hair fell down her shoulders, her blue eyes sparkled in the sunlight, and her face was gorgeous.

Percy had moved on.

And, the hardest part was, as he talked privately with her, he _remembered _her. He remembered Annabeth. He remembered everything they did, all the quests they went on, all the battles they fought, all the kisses they shared, _everything_.

But he had found someone else.

He tried to apologize, saying that he hoped she'd find someone better and more suited for her than him. Their parents were rivals; they never would have lasted, right?

Annabeth didn't try to remind him that he had said the exact opposite last October, right after a visit from Annabeth's mother.

She can't bring herself to be jealous toward Emily, Percy's new girlfriend, either. All she could do was realize: the two of them were meant to be. They looked so perfect together; even the others noticed it. They didn't mention it in front of Annabeth, of course, but Annabeth could tell.

Piper tries to comfort her, but Annabeth just shakes it off. She should've seen it coming. No one stayed. Not even Percy. And why should they? She wasn't someone worth hanging on to. She was too complicated. Too prideful. Too expectant.

As she walks around New Rome with Reyna, glad that she escaped the dining area where Percy had his arm around Emily, she notices even she gives her a look of pity, like she could tell how her heart broke into a million pieces when those two were together. Annabeth knew she shouldn't make it too obvious. The last thing she wanted to do was embarrass Percy in front of his new home.

Oh, yeah. And he wasn't coming back to Camp Half-Blood either.

He promised he would visit, of course, but Annabeth knew they would be very rare. And she knew she wouldn't be around during those visits, anyway. Just looking at him would bring back all the thoughts Annabeth had on what they could've been.

* * *

**First note at the bottom of chapter! Finally conquered my laziness... by the way, it's Annabeth. :) Sorry it's a little short, I wrote this a long time ago and just didn't know what to do with it. Then I was offered this amazing place in a FanFiction account. Well, how could I refuse? **

**Don't worry, it's not a one-shot. More chapters to come! And remember, review, review, review! (And favourite, favourite favourite, and follow, follow, follow!)**


	2. Author's Note (sorry!)

**I'm SO sorry for the long wait. I know you hate these notes, but I just had to tell you guys: IT WILL BE UPDATED TODAY. I'm currently in computer class in school right now. It's free time. :) Anyway, the storyline is exactly like the Mark of Athena, except with Percy and Annabeth broken up. But that may not last for long...or will it? ;) Sorry again and thanks for any of you who give a damn about my story! **


	3. Chapter 3

Leo torches New Rome.

Of course, after getting her heart broken by Percy, her day was _obviously_ going to get better.

As they climb the ladder up onto the Argo II, with the Romans below them screaming and throwing things, Percy turns around to give Emily one last kiss. She hears him promise he'll come back to her, no matter what.

Annabeth turns away, her eyes burning.

They climb aboard the ship, and Percy tackles Leo, his head hitting the deck. Piper and Jason manage to make it onto the ship, and Annabeth pulls the throttle in the controls and brings them straight into the sky.

After a while, she pulls her hair back into a ponytail, instead of letting it hang loose like she had originally put it. Percy had once told her she looked beautiful and dangerous with her hair pulled back, and beautiful and more innocent with her hair down.

After the huge disappointment today, she certainly didn't want to look beautiful and innocent.

She's angry; not just with Leo, but with the whole world, for making her life so complicated and twisted and unpredictable. Four months, _four months_ was all she had gotten, and six months was the time she had to wait.

A lot could happen in six months, she realizes as she glances at Percy. Apparently he was staring at her, and quickly looks away.

She pushes down the hope, and walks to the deck to Frank and Leo, who is slumped against the mast. A part of Annabeth feels pity. Leo looked like someone had sucked the life out of him, as he looked at the wreckage of the ship he had worked so hard to create.

But another part feels anger and frustration. They were _this _close, or at least Annabeth was, to getting the Romans to trust them, and Leo had to ruin it all with his stupid ballistae.

"One more time," she says. "Exactly _what _happened?"

He looks miserable. "I don't know. It's fuzzy."

She crosses her arms. "You mean you don't remember?"

"I…" Leo looks like he is trying to swallow a marble. "I remember, but it was like watching myself do things. I couldn't control it."

What? Could this have anything to do with the cold chill Annabeth had felt before?

Coach Hedge taps his bat against the deck. "Look, kid. You blew up some stuff. You attacked some Romans. Awesome! Excellent! But did you _have_ to knock out the satellite channels? I was right in the middle of watching a cage match."

Coach Hedge is a pretty good fighter, (at the times when he isn't all crazy, which is almost never), but it looked like he wouldn't be much help here. "Coach," Annabeth says. "Why don't you check to make sure all the fires are out?"

"But I already did that."

"Do it again."

Coach Hedge walks off grumbling. Annabeth gives herself a mental pat on the back for being terrifying enough to scare off old satyrs with minor mental issues.

Annabeth kneels next to Leo, and tries to make her voice as gentle as possible. "Leo," she says calmly. "Did Octavian trick you somehow? Did he frame you, or-"

"No," he says. "The guy was a jerk, but he definitely didn't fire at the camp. I did."

This couldn't be right. Leo wouldn't do something like this. He knew getting the Romans to trust them was too important to ruin.

Frank scowls. "On purpose?"

"No!" Leo squeezes his eyes shut. "Well, yes…I mean, I didn't want to. But at the same time, I _felt _like I wanted to. Something was making me do it. There was a cold feeling inside me-"

Annabeth seizes up. "A cold feeling."

"Yeah," Leo says. "Why?"

Annabeth suddenly hears Percy's voice from below the decks. "Annabeth, we need you."

It takes her a few seconds to realize he meant needing her to help Jason.

She notices the worried expression on Leo's face. "He'll be fine." Her expression softens. "Frank, I'll be back. Just…watch Leo. Please."

She doesn't know why, but something about Frank made her trust him instantly. Maybe it was the baby face, she doesn't know.

Frank nods.

Annabeth goes downstairs and heads into Jason's cabin. Piper is holding his hand while he lays on the bed, white as a sheet.

Standing beside the bed is Percy, who looks up at her when she enters. She tries to avoid his eyes.

"How is he?" Annabeth asks, getting an ice pack and some nectar out.

Piper looks anxious. "He's breathing, but…" She trails off.

Piper must've already put some nectar on the head wound, because all there's left is a thin scar on his forehead.

"He should be fine." Annabeth sets the ice pack on his head. "No serious damage was caused. Just stay with him until he wakes up. A familiar face might be helpful. Percy and I will be helping Leo."

Piper nods. "How is he, by the way?"

"Fine, but…"Annabeth swallows. "He says he _did_ fire the ballista."

"What? Why?"

Annabeth shakes her head. "He doesn't know, but apparently something was making him do it. A cold feeling."

"A cold feeling." Percy muttered. The three (four, really) stayed in silence for a few moments, comprehending what this might mean.

Piper looks at her. "You guys go on ahead. I'll stay here with Jason."

Percy and Annabeth go out and head up to the deck. The walk there is silent.

Annabeth wants to reach for his hand and give a reassuring squeeze, just to tell him everything will work out, and that they'll be fine. But she doesn't. She _can't_.

They climb onto the deck, where Leo immediately says, "Is Jason-?"

"He's resting," Annabeth says. "Piper's keeping an eye on him, but he should be fine."

Percy gives him a hard look. "Annabeth says you _did_ fire the ballista?"

"Man, I-I don't understand what happened. I'm so sorry-"

"Sorry?" Percy growls. Annabeth puts a hand on his chest to keep him back, but then quickly draws it back in. "We'll figure it out later," she repeated. "Right now we have to regroup and make a plan. What's the situation with the ship?"

He tells Annabeth about the damage and the supplies they needed. He is bemoaning the shortage of Celestial bronze when Festus the dragon masthead begins to whir and squeak.

"Perfect." Leo sighs with relief.

"What's perfect?" Annabeth asks. "I could use some _perfect_ right now." She really could.

Leo manages a smile. "Everything we need is in one place. Frank, why don't you turn into a bird or something? Fly down and tell your girlfriend to meet us in the Great Salt Lake in Utah."

As Leo got the ship ready for landing, Piper, Frank, Percy and Annabeth strap themselves into chairs below. Strapping Jason to his bed was the hard part, but they manage (leave it to Leo to conjure up a gigantic rope from his tool belt).

Although the ship was damaged, Annabeth knows that Leo would be able to get them down safely. Annabeth may get annoyed with him sometimes, but she trusts him.

Up on the deck, they hear Coach Hedge – who insisted on clinging to the forward railing – yell, "YEAH! Bring it on, lake!"

They all snicker. All Annabeth could hope for was that he didn't get hurt.

"Hang on, Coach!" Leo yells a few moments later. "This is going to hurt."

"I was _born _for hurt!"

So much for that thought.

WHOOM! The four demigods could feel the ship tilt dangerously to starboard as it crashed down onto the lake. They cling onto the chair arms until the ship righted itself and Leo rang the all-clear bell.

Piper immediately goes to Jason's room while Percy, Annabeth and Frank sit dejectedly around the dining table. Percy sends a quick Iris message to Tyson, telling him to take Ella the harpy to Camp Half-Blood. After he does that, he sits back with them, discussing Leo and the ballista problem. Annabeth notices that Percy stares at the enchanted wall that shows a sunset view of Camp Half-Blood. With longing, she couldn't tell.

That was the thing about Percy. She knew him inside and out, sometimes even better than he knew himself. All those years of fighting together had created a bond between them; a bond she had thought was unbreakable. But there were those extremely rare times when he got distant and she had no idea what he was thinking.

No doubt she was like that sometimes, too.

Leo and Hazel come downstairs and look around.

"So we've landed," Percy says. "What now?"

Frank plucks his bowstring. "Figure out the prophecy? I mean… that _was_ a prophecy Ella spoke, right? From the Sibylline Books?"

"The what?" Leo asks.

Annabeth had learned about the Sibylline Books before. She knows that they were supposed to be destroyed around the fall of Rome, but there were rumors that some of the pages had survived and were still out there to be read. Frank explains that Ella had somehow got hold of a collection of the prophecies in the books and memorized them.

_That's one smart chicken lady_, she thinks.

"That's why you didn't tell the Romans," Leo guesses. "You didn't want them to get a hold of her."

"Ella's sensitive," Percy says, tearing his eyes away from the image. "She was a captive when we found her. I just didn't want…" He makes a fist. "It doesn't matter now. I sent Tyson a message, told him to take Ella to Camp Half-Blood. They'll be safe there."

At least the Romans didn't take away his kindness and willingness to help others.

Annabeth laces her fingers. "Let me think about prophecy – but right now we have more immediate problems. Leo, what do we need?"

"The easiest thing is tar." Annabeth can tell he's glad to change the subject. "We can get that in the city, at a roofing-supply store or something like that. Also, celestial bronze and lime. According to Festus, we can find both of those at an island in the lake, just west of here."

Something inside Annabeth feels relief. Everything they needed really was in one place.

"We'll have to hurry," Hazel warns. If I knew Octavian, here's searching for us with his auguries. The Romans will send a strike force after us. It's a matter of honor."

Everybody's eyes turn to Leo. "Guys…I don't know what happened. Honestly, I-"

Annabeth raises a hand. "We've been talking. We agree it couldn't have been _you_ Leo. That cold feeling you mentioned…I felt it too. It must've been some sort of magic, either Octavian or Gaea or one of her minions. But until we understand what happened-"

Frank grunts. "How can we be sure it won't happen again?"

Annabeth can't answer that. Living in a world with monsters, magic, and evil forces who want to take over the world, nobody was _ever_ sure if something dangerous might happen again.

"I'm fine now," Leo insists. "Maybe we should use the buddy system. Nobody goes anywhere alone. We can leave Piper and Coach Hedge to board with Jason. Send one team into town to get tar. Another team can go after the bronze and the lime."

"Split up?" Percy says. "That sounds like a really bad idea." It didn't sound good to Annabeth either, but it was safer, and what other choice did they have?

"It'll be quicker," Hazel puts it. "Besides, there's a reason a quest's usually limited to three demigods, right?"

The daughter of Pluto was pretty clever. "You're right," Annabeth says. "The same reason why we needed the Argo II…outside camp, seven demigods in one place will attract way too much monstrous attention. The ship is designed to conceal and protect us. We should be safe on board, but if we go on expeditions, we shouldn't travel in groups larger than three. No point in alerting more of Gaea's minions than we have to."

Percy takes a deep breath. "Okay, then." He looks at Annabeth. "We can be partners. If that's okay with you."

Annabeth doesn't want to. "Sure."

Hazel smiles. "Oh, that's easy. Frank, you were amazing, turning into a dragon! Could you do it again to fly Percy and Annabeth into town for the tar?"

Poor Frank. He opens his mouth like he wants to protest. "I…I suppose. But what about you?"

"I'll ride Arion with Sa- with Leo here." What had she just called Leo? "We'll get the bronze and lime. We can all meet back here by dark."

Frank scowled, but Annabeth got the feeling Leo _wanted_ to go with Hazel. To prove he was trustworthy.

"Leo," Annabeth said. "If we get the supplies, how long to fix the ship?"

"With luck, just a few hours."

That was good news. "Fine. We'll meet you back here as soon as possible, but stay safe. We could use some good luck. That doesn't mean we'll get it."


	4. Chapter 4

Frank could turn into good dragons.

As they flew over the city, searching for a roofing-supply store as Leo had advised, Percy can't help but think of Emily. How is she? Is she trying to stop the camp from taking over Camp Half-Blood?

He may not go to Camp Half-Blood anymore, but it's still one of his homes, and people he cares for still live there.

_Like Annabeth_, his mind whispers.

He shakes his head. Yes, he cares for Annabeth, but not in that way anymore. Their relationship is just a thing in the past. He doesn't need her, and she doesn't need him. Not like he had thought before. He has Emily now, a better, less complicated choice for him. It doesn't matter that Annabeth was the only thing he remembered from his past. It wasn't necessary.

He hopes it wasn't.

"See anything?" He asks.

"No." Annabeth's voice changed when she spoke around him now. A harder, more guarded voice. It makes him a little sad. "How – wait, I think I found one!"

He looks to where she's pointing, a building with the words "Roofmart" written at the front. He grins. "Good looking. Frank, lets land there."

Frank turns and heads for the store. One step closer to fixing the ship.

They land in the parking lot of Roofmart and Frank changes back into human form. Thankfully, there aren't any mortals around, or else Frank would've been the star of whatever the Mist caused the mortals to see.

As they go into the store, Percy's hand brushes Annabeth's lightly, but enough to make her jerk it away. She doesn't glance at him.

How were they supposed to complete this quest, Percy thinks, if Annabeth flinched at the slightest physical connection they both made?

He guesses it was his fault. He had caused their breakup. But he didn't regret it. Not completely, anyway.

The store is strangely empty. There aren't even people at the check-out areas.

"It's like a ghost town," Frank mutters. "Where is everybody?"

Annabeth checks the store hours. "It's supposed to be open for another three hours," she says. "You're right. Where'd everybody go?"

Percy takes out his sword. "I don't know, but we'd better be careful. Let's just get the tar and get out of here."

The others nod and take out their weapons, going down the aisles, looking for tar.

As they go past the cement section, Percy hears a low growl.

He stands up straight. "Did you guys here that?"

Annabeth nods. "It sounded like-"

It growls again.

She goes quiet, pointing her chin at the section two aisles before them. The three of them duck into their current aisle, pressing themselves against the shelves.

Another growl. It seemed to be getting closer.

They quickly shuffle to the left, hearing more and more growling. Percy is sure by now that it's a monster.

The growling stops.

Percy stands motionless against the shelves, and then slowly peeks around.

All he sees are a pair of huge, sticky, inky black feet. He looks up, and sees the inky black stuff takes over most of the creature's body. The arms are dripping the stuff and the face is so covered in it Percy can't make out the nose, mouth, or ears.

Just a pair of solid black eyes.

He ducks back in. "Run!"

The three demigods start running back to the exit. Percy doesn't have to look back to know the monster is following them. Forget the tar. They'd find it somewhere else.

Just then Percy slipped on some tar on the floor and fell to the ground.

"Percy!" Annabeth and Frank rush to help him up. He's alright, but his shirt is now covered in tar and smells horrible.

"I'm fine," he says. "Keep running!"

They turn for the door, but it's too late. The giant tar monster is standing in front of their only escape.

"Oh, man," Frank mutters. "What do we do now?"

There was a sudden shuffling behind them. Percy froze. The last thing they need…

"Two of them?" Annabeth asked incredulously.

…are two tar monsters.

Percy held out his sword in front of him. "Come on, guys. We've fought worse."

Annabeth unsheathes her dagger. "Two of us should fight the one blocking the doorway. The other stays behind and makes sure the other monster doesn't sneak up on us or anything."

"You guys fight that one," Frank decides. "You've had more experience."

_And more time fighting together_, Percy thinks, then almost smiles at the double meaning.

The monster starts lumbering toward them. He doesn't need to look at Annabeth to know it's time to charge.

Percy gets in front of the monster and slashes out with Riptide. The monster swats it away and lunges at Percy. He rolls to the side and tries stabbing his side, but the monster turns quickly and Percy's sword gets covered in the tar.

Annabeth isn't having any luck, either. The monster is amazingly nimble for something so large, and keeps turning whenever one of them tries to stab it with their blade.

Percy notices Frank firing arrows at the other monster, but it keeps smacking them away, or they're slipping on its goopy **(Sorry! Third-grade word, I know)** skin.

"Percy!" Annabeth yells. "It's impossible to kill them from the front!"

"I tried stabbing at the back, but it's too fast!"

"Just keep him distracted!"

Percy wishes Annabeth had brought her invisibility cap. It would've helped a lot.

He can't help reminiscing about the time in New York when he and Annabeth had run into a pack of _dracanae_, and Annabeth had used her cap to kill them and they'd both landed in the grass and Annabeth had laughed and leaned in to kiss him…

_Stop it_, Percy scolds himself. _Don't think that way about Annabeth anymore._

He keeps fighting the monster from the front, and is too distracted to see Annabeth in the back. He's just thinking to keep it distracted until she-

The monster suddenly froze, looked at Percy, and melted into a puddle of tar.

Annabeth's standing there with her knife covered in black sludge and some in her hair. She lets out a breath and moves her hair back from her face. Percy thinks about all the times he had done that before…

_Stop it, Percy!_

"You okay?"

"Yeah." She turns around. "We need to go help Frank."

Percy nods, then runs with her to the other tar monster. Frank has a big smear of black sludge down his face, and looks pretty given up.

"Guys!" he shouts. "Help!"

"Distract it," Annabeth says, and runs off. Percy hurries over to Frank and starts fighting the monster.

"You killed the other one?" Frank shouts.

"Yeah!"

In no time at all, the monster has been also reduced to a pile of tar. The three of them just stare at it for a minute before Annabeth says, "Should we take some?"

Percy and Frank both look at her. "What?"

"Tar. We need tar to fix the ship."

"Oh," Frank says.

Percy grabs a bucket from the store and fills it with the tar. "Come one. Let's get out of here before-"

_Grrrrrr._

"-more monsters show up."

Frank, Annabeth and Percy run out of the store. Frank quickly turns back into a dragon and starts bringing the three of them back to the ship.

Percy suddenly has a thought.

"What were tar monsters doing back there, anyway?"

Annabeth shrugs. "Who knows? I didn't even know they existed."

If Gaea had started to throw monsters Annabeth didn't know existed at them, then they were in serious trouble.

All Percy could hope for was that they make it to Rome safely, _without _running into any more tar monsters.

* * *

**I'm SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO sorry for the big break! I started on this chapter, like, two months ago and never had time to finish it! I was planning to update it on my birthday yesterday, but never had any time! So sorry!**

**Anyway, I absolutely SUCK at writing fighting scenes, so forgive me if it wasn't as good as you hoped, and if the chapter ending was a bit too abrupt. **

**Also, many thanks to Taylor Swift for teaching me the word 'reminisce'. :)**


	5. Note for me

**This is a personal message for 'me' who posted this review:**

**heres four words for u i hate your story! :-(  
everybody loves percabeth not some frkin emily! ;-(**

**First of all, 'me', please check our profile which clearly says, "Do not throw flames at us as this is our first time publishing anything". It's at the bottom, and it's a short profile, so you shouldn't have any trouble finding it. **

**Secondly, I just wanted to try a story that follows a different plotline in which Percy leaves Annabeth for 'some frkin emily'. I know that in the books, Percy would NEVER do that. He and Annabeth mean too much to each other, and the entire fandom would fall apart if they broke up, including me. Trust me, I LIVE on Percabeth. **

**Thirdly, you WILL get some Percabeth soon. You really think I'd write 'Tartarus scenes will be included' in the summary if there wasn't any? What, did you think Nico pushed Percy into Tartarus so Annabeth wouldn't be alone? Next time, read the summary before you read the story. **

**Fourthly, I think you should take summer school, idiot. My 4-year-old cousin has better grammar than you. Also, it's REALLY hard to wink while you're mad at someone. Mm-kay? ****_Arrivederci_****! **

**Oh, and for all you Muslims out there, Eid Mubarak! Also, sorry for not updating. I had to post that. You'll get the next chapter soon!**


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